Hello there I am trying to upgrade some how/way/shape/form and I was looking for some advice.
I talked to my brother and he said one thing I could do simply buy more ram, he said find out what kind is in it now and just buy more to fill the slots.
He also said getting a bigger ssd would help also.
I have a aura r8- i7 / 1080ti 500g ssd.
I just have noticed it slowing down as of late, My fps in overwatch went from a steady 230-250 down to unstable 140-220fps… huge jumps…
I think a good plan is to buy some ram ssd, clean the thing out well, reset it to factory and see where im at……?
I dunno im a noob and any advice would be apprechiated sorry for ranting…just wanted you to understand my situation lol
PS im poor, well its either upgrade small and save big or buy new computer and live off ramen for months… ya know.
check your temps? what exact specs?
Whether or not you need more RAM will depend on your current total specs, resource usage, settings you play at, etc.
I tried looking up your system; if by “aura r8-i7” you’re referring to the Alienware Aurora R8 with an i7, it seems to conflict with the info you shared since the R8 i7’s have 16GB of RAM, which is where you want to be for a typical gaming PC. So I’ll need more spec info on your whole system.
Either way, adding more RAM would help only if you’re utilizing more than what you physically have at any given time. When that happens, Windows starts using virtual memory - when it uses your free space on your storage drive for a paging/swap file to act like RAM. Your system slows down from the constant swapping of data between that and your physical RAM. 16GB is ideal for gamers. More if you’re a heavy multitasker, run virtual machines, a content creator, etc.
Upgrading your 500GB SSD is fine if you’re running out of space. Games are getting so large nowadays. Expansion packs, patch updates, heck…even the save file is in the GB range for some games.
Cleaning your system out is a good habit to do too since dust build-up would increase heat and cause your CPU and GPU to throttle, lowering your FPS.
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Intel® Core™ i7-7700CPU @3.60GH
Installed memory : 16.0GB
System type : 64 bit operating system x64 based processor
1080ti graphics card…liquid cooled cpu.
I feel like I’m embarrassing myself with every post lol.
and temps have been going up a bit, though that might be because its summer and if I turn the AC on in my house my father will be out for me lol. I have cleaned the PC before but not sense its slow down.
if your system was fine then it wasn’t on the same programs, it’s probably a software or cooling problem not an upgrade problem.
report back your CPU temps during gameplay using something like HWInfo64. Same for GPU.
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I posted the specs! I think… >.>… and yes im sure the information I give is not 100% correct I barley know how to look up my specs. lol.
BUT as you mentioned the SSD… I think taking your advice I would be best off just upgrading that / doing a hard clean and resetting the PC…
Yeah…you posted it after my reply. Your specs look fine. It could be as Salhezra said - a cooling issue. Keep an eye on your temps. She suggested HWInfo64; there’s also CoreTemp, AIDA64, plus a bunch more.
If you are on the stock intel cooler on that 7700, and if its an OEM case, it probably has poor cooling.
My guess is you’re bouncing off the thermal throttling on the CPU lately especially during summer causing FPS drops due to throttling.
My recommendation is to confirm the CPU temps are bad (anything under 95c won’t throttle on the CPU; VRM throttling could happen though especially on an OEM PC), then to replace thermal paste and ideally just replace the cooler with something more competent like a cheap Hyper 212 or even the Snowman.
You probably need a good case cleaning, and to ensure you have some exhaust fans.
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First things first:
Check your fans. Make sure they are clean and running at the proper speed.
Heat is a big computer killer. Dust free with working fans is the fastest way to cool that sucker down.